Updated with the latest Leaf hardware, the all-electric e-NV200 resembles the concept Nissan debuted two years ago in Detroit. Prepping the Leaf’s powertrain for van duty required Nissan to reshape the 24-kWh lithium-ion battery pack to fit underneath the flat floor, without any intrusion or reductions in cargo volume versus the gas-powered NV200. Nissan says the battery’s low center of gravity, along with structural reinforcements to protect it during an impact, increase torsional rigidity by 20 percent over the regular van. The 80-kW electric motor, which bundles a 6.6-kW onboard charger and power inverter into one unit, carries over intact save for more aggressive regenerative braking, which Nissan says will return greater efficiency given the van’s citified intentions. Compared to the acceleration of the 1.5-liter diesel-powered van offered in Europe, Nissan promises quicker acceleration but isn’t quoting official times. Nissan estimates a 106-mile range on European test cycles, a moonshot given the 64-mile range we saw on a 2013 Leaf during our recent EV comparison.

Visually, the e-NV200 is a van. Look closer, and you’ll realize the grille for the four-cylinder engine is sealed shut with a solid, body-colored front fascia and a central charging port. Blue-tinted headlamps with LED accent lamps, bluish badges, optional two-tone aluminum wheels and clear taillamp lenses round out the exterior changes. Inside, the e-NV200 adapts the Leaf’s black-trimmed center stack in a more upright stance, complete with automatic climate control, push-button start and a traditional PRND shifter instead of the Leaf’s hockey-puck design. The instrument cluster goes all-digital, with a round color central speedometer and power gauge, plus a monochrome battery-level display to the right. As the fast-charge debate rolls on, Nissan is continuing to offer the Japanese CHAdeMO standard on the e-NV200, which promises an 80-percent charge in 30 minutes.

Nissan has been testing e-NV200 prototypes in Europe and Japan since the concept’s introduction, and when production begins in Barcelona this year, there will be no immediate plan to offer it in the U.S. Currently, Nissan has two electric vans whirring about the country on short-term loans, including one with FedEx in the Washington, D.C., area. Given Nissan’s decision to localize battery and EV production in Smyrna, Tenn., we imagine the e-NV200 will come over sooner than later—or whenever this eclectic electric van finds time in its hectic schedule.